Table 2.
Most recent advances of polymers in engineering EVMs for cancer treatment.
| Type of Drugs | Type of EVM | Cargo | Polymer | Application | Conclusion | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| small molecule chemotherapeutics | hybrid EVs | ICG, R837 | CD47 | Drug delivery: long circulation and excellent photothermal therapy | CD47-overexpressed hybrid therapeutic nanovesicles exhibited long blood circulation and improved the macrophage-mediated phagocytosis of tumor cells. | [84] |
| Sur-EVMs | doxorubicin | Ang and TAT | Delivery efficiency: targeting | Cross the BBB, reach the glioma, and penetrate the tumor. | [109] | |
| Syn-EVMs | gemcitabine | PEG | Drug delivery for endosomal escape and long circulation | Accelerate drug release at endosomal level, and without significantly compromising their stealth abilities. | [129] | |
| nucleic acid | hybrid EVs | CRISPR/Cas9 | Lipofectamine 2000 | CRISPR/Cas9 system delivery for in vivo gene editing | Systems require delivery of both Cas9 and sgRNA into the same cell, which remains a challenge in vivo where delivery and editing efficiency remain low. | [82] |
| Sur-EVMs | siRNA | G58 peptide | Gene delivery: siRNA loading | GAPDH-derived G58 peptide enables highly efficient loading of siRNA onto the EV surface | [124] | |
| Syn-EVMs | siRNA | PEI | Gene delivery: loading and responsive release | Photoactivatable polymer permitted the efficient loading and ROS-responsive release of siRNA. | [130] | |
| proteins/ peptides |
hybrid EVs | CRISPR associated protein 9 | dioctadecyl-amido-glycyl-spermine | Protein delivery: a simple and quick method for loading proteins in EVs | EV-mediated delivery is compatible with various molecular weight proteins and improved uptake compared to electroporation. | [131] |
| Sur-EVMs | sgRNA and Cas9 protein | GFP antibody | A method to deliver sgRNA: Cas9 ribonucleoprotein | This engineered a modified exosome-fused CD63 with GFP, which can bind to the GFP antibody fused with Cas9 protein. Cas9 proteins were captured and efficiently loaded into exosomes rather than a random package. | [132] | |
| Sur-EVMs | proapoptotic peptide and methotrexate | low-density lipoprotein, KLA peptides | Peptide delivery: for brain tumor treatment | Functionalizing chemotherapeutics-loaded EVs with peptides in a facile and controllable way facilitates them targeting BBB and brain tumor cells with highly efficient anticancer properties. | [128] |